The Golden Isles church of Christ
Weekly Bulletin
Volume 3, Number 7
February 16, 2003
Is the Conscience a Safe Guide?
by Mark J. Ward
Have you ever heard the expression, "Let your conscience be your guide."? Many people today sincerely believe that their conscience is a proper and safe guide in religion. Let us look to a few passages of Scripture and see what God tells us about this important subject.
Passages that mention "conscience" in the New Testament
- Acts 23:1, " And Paul, earnestly beholding the council, said, Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day."
- Acts 24:16, "And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offence toward God, and toward men:"
- Romans 14:7, "Howbeit there is not in every man that knowledge: for some with conscience of the idol unto this hour eat it as a thing offered unto an idol; and their conscience being weak is defiled.:"
- Romans 14:12, "But when ye sin so against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, ye sin against Christ."
Note the following truths:
1. Saul of Tarsus thought he was right/correct while following his conscience in persecuting Christians (Acts 23:1). He was religious, his conscience was wrong and he thought he was right. Many people today fit this category.
2. If we violate the conscience of another person or our own conscience, we sin (Romans 14; I Corinthians 8).
3. God's Word is truth (John 8:31,32; 17:17) and we need to learn to "train" our consciences to be in harmony with that truth, the true Will of God.
4. When we properly read, study and follow God's Word, our consciences should mirror God's Will for man today...Then, knowing what is right, our properly educated consciences will be bothering us when we do wrong! Isn't it great that God made man with a conscience to help us in this regard? But we must have properly trained consciences, lest we THINK we are right when we might be wrong.
5. Paul taught us to follow him AS HE FOLLOWED CHRIST (See I Cor. 11:1). In the same way, we should follow our consciences AS WE FOLLOW GOD'S WILL (Acts 23:1; Rom. 14; I Cor. 8; Col. 3:16,17). So, the conscience alone is NOT a safe guide, but the properly aligned conscience (in harmony with God's Will on various matters) is to be followed. Wouldn't that mean that the "guide" is really God's Word, rightly divided, and that both our consciences and our actions should be in harmony with that? Thus, the necessity of training our consciences properly.
We are not "born" with consciences that are properly aligned with God's Word. The "paradox" is that we are to not violate our consciences, but our consciences might NOT be in harmony with the Will of God at our current stage of spiritual development. This will take GROWTH in God's Word on possibly many topics in order to correct this. It takes Bible reading, Bible study and
spiritual exercise to properly determine right from wrong. Then, (and only then) our consciences will be a safe guide. Let's all seek to live our lives by following consciences that are in line with God's Will! Thanks for reading. - Mark J. Ward* * * * * * * * * *
Are We Active in the Lord’s Army?
by Mark J. Ward
2 Timothy 2:3 says, "Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ."
Being IN the Lord's Army
One of the saddest things about religion today is that most people who "think" they are Christians, really aren't! Can you believe it? Most folks are going to church somewhere and are worshipping God in vain! They think they are something they are not: Christians. True Christians are believers who have repented of past sins, confessed Jesus as Christ with their mouths and have been immersed in water for the remission of their sins (See Mark 16:16; Rom. 10:9,10; Acts 2:38; Acts 22:16; Gal. 3:26,27).
Christians are called soldiers of Christ (2 Timothy 2:3). Yes, this implies being in the army that belongs to the Lord. This is NOT a physical army with guns and bullets and missiles. This is a spiritual warfare against Satan and sin.
Being ACTIVE in the Lord’s Army
Just because one becomes a Christian is no guarantee that he or she is ACTIVE in service! In fact, many folks begin to "relax" after becoming a Christian and don't grow as they should. These folks are so relieved by the fact that they have put on Christ, have all their past sins removed, have hope of eternal life in heaven and are so happy, that they fail to begin the lifelong journey of spiritual warfare in Christ.
Please don't get the wrong impression. This warfare is not fed by hate...unless it is hate for sin. Rather, this warfare is fed with LOVE...love for God, love for one's own soul, and love for souls of others (whether saints or aliens).
We need to question our spiritual activity. Am I active in spiritual matters? Am I getting too caught up in the world (even in things that are right within themselves) and don't allow enough time for spiritual activity? What about you? How much time per week do you engage in spiritual activity? Do you read God's Word regularly? Do you study on a regular basis? Think about it...then DO SOMETHING about it. Let's all work harder on being active in God's spiritual army. After working on oneself, wouldn't you think a soldier of Christ would work to save others?
Thanks for reading. - mjw
Email the Editor at markjward@yahoo.com
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